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Life Skills: Learning to Love Yourself

Addiction will rob you of any love you have left for yourself. The lengths you most likely went to obtain your drugs and alcohol can relinquish your self-esteem due to the surreptitious nature of the beast. During this process, you can completely lose yourself and feel unworthy of receiving love from anyone including from within. When you have enough and decide to quit drugs and alcohol, you will have to work through the shame and guilt to gain back the self-respect you lost.

Celebrate your victories

If you have taken the opportunity to get sober, you are winning. There is no need to rip your jersey off and run triumphantly through your neighborhood to let everyone know you are a champion in recovery. You just need to recognize each twenty-four-hour period as a victory and one more day further away from the living hell you once resided in during your addiction.

Honor yourself

Take away your negative self-talk and give yourself a break. Rewrite your internal script to say something more positive about yourself. If you are staying sober, recognize each day by acknowledging that you are doing something right. You can receive all the accolades in the world, but unless you feel them from the inside out, they will never be enough for you. Believe in yourself so the world will follow suit.

You are perfect just the way you are

Recovery suggests that you look at a spiritual life through the mantra of “progress rather than perfection”. You should take this into consideration in all areas of your life. Many people who have an addiction to drugs and alcohol also have the need to strive for perfectionism. No matter how hard you try, you will never be perfect, nor will be anything that you are attempting to conquer. Go with the flow because trying to run the show usually only results in frustration and expectations that lead straight to resentment. Accept where you are in life, and you will see that you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

Let the other shoe drop

Life gets “lifey” and the only way that you will be able to cope with these problems is stay optimistic. Continuously waiting for something negative to happen will keep you in low spirits. By letting yourself get through anything sober, you can find the strength from within to not worry about the things that are out of your control.

Today is the day that you should start loving yourself. You have come a long way in your sobriety and nobody can love you the way that you can love yourself.

Serenity Oaks Wellness Center is a 5-week extensive treatment program that specifically caters to alcohol and drug addiction. Our 12-Step aspects and holistic therapies combined can show our clients how to adorn their soul in a recovery.